Defiance
by MourningMemories7
Summary: Neji x OC; Not long after the Chunin exams, Team Guy is assigned to escort the heiress, Arashi Yuri, back to The Land of The Tiger Lilies. Unfortunately, she seems to have a major problem with the ninja, especially former destiny-obsessed Neji.
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note:_**_ This is the third story I've started! I'm going to overwhelm myself. Oh well. I just randomly got the idea stuck in my head and decided to write it. Just don't expect me to be very frequent about updating my story._

* * *

**Basic Information**

**Name:  
**Arashi Yuri

**Characteristics:**  
Ice Blue Eyes  
Five Foot One  
Blond Hair

**Personality:**  
Despondent  
Withdrawn  
Finesse  
Unable To Be Caged Yet Undefiant

**Summary:**  
Not long after the Chunin exams, Team Guy is assigned to escort the heiress, Arashi Yuri, back to her homeland in The Land of The Tiger Lilies. Unfortunately, she seems to have a major problem with the ninja, especially former destiny-obsessed Neji. But hidden under her cold eyes is a lost soul, thinking that she cannot change what is meant to be. Somehow, will her frame of mind be able to be changed?

* * *

**Prologue**

"How did you know?"  
I crinkled my eyes in confusion.  
"How did you not? Why was I the only one to notice? The air around him was tainted and angry." A shudder took over me.  
That man had been bad. Very bad.

"What do you mean by angry?" My father patted the cushion next to him on the couch, and I took it, confused.  
"Everything around him cringed, papa. The flowers would languish- I felt like I couldn't breathe when he was near. The air around him rippled with anger- with red."  
He stared at me with an intensity I'd never seen before. "You mean you didn't see it, daddy? Nothing? Nothing at all?"

I never called him that anymore, ever since my rules of etiquette and society had been taken into account by the court.  
It was always father or sir. Occasionally papa if I wished to be slightly more attached.  
But this scared me- he didn't seem to know what I was talking about- and calling him my daddy seemed to calm me somewhat.

"My child, there was nothing to indicate that he was not a trustworthy man to have a position of power. Yet you say you could tell what he was, under all those niceties?" I cast my eyes downward, suddenly uncomfortable.  
Something was wrong.  
When papa explained it to me like this, it seemed like an amazing feat- yet to me it had seemed so painfully obvious.

"Your mother always said you had an eye for a person's true nature. I never would have dreamed she'd meant it to that extent." He seemed to be talking to himself.  
I was surprised to hear him talk about mother, it usually took a lot of prying to even get him to say her name.  
That strange look had come over his face, and I knew it was up to to bring him back into the world as I had so many times before.

"Papa, what do you mean?" As he looked back at me, I took in his weathered face, those sorrowful, mourning grey eyes and pure white hair, accompanied by a perfectly groomed mustache.  
And shock went through me as I realized... he looked aged. Tired.

In my nine years of life I had never classified as my father growing old.  
But in this moment, I finally understood the wisdom and pain in his soul, including the loss of mother.

And I grew sad as well.

"My daughter, my Little Lily... No, Arashi." I startled.  
He never called me by my first name.

**"You have the gift of our household. Just like your mother did."**


	2. Simply Unbearable

_**Author's Note: **Arashi's abilities only come from my own imagination. _

* * *

**Chapter One: Simply Unbearable**

Neji's POV

It had started out as a perfectly ordinary day: a crisp January-like morning of training and our over-enthusiastic Sensei.  
Tenten and I sparring while Guy Sensei helped Lee with some mild stretching to strengthen his leg and arm.  
Only two reminders of the Chunin Exams- Lee's casts and my different attitude.

That Naruto... I had underestimated him, and he had beaten me.  
But learning about my father... nothing else could compare to the feeling of peace I now had.  
A half smile took over my features at the thought.

Lee and I had come to a sort of understanding as well.  
He was also part of the team, and I finally acknowledged that.  
It was all he had wanted me to see.

All had gone back to normal.  
My problems had finally come to an end.

...

"Your mission is to escort the heiress, Arashi Yuri back to her village. Her father is trying to make a decision about his disciplinaries so you will also be guarding her until the contract is complete. The mission is quite long- one to two months time."  
She paused to see any sign of distress at having such a time-consuming mission.  
When she saw no such hesitation, she continued.

"The area lies on the border of The Land of Rivers and The Land of Fire. After much dispute between our two countries, the village decided to break off from both lands, no longer wishing to be part of either. Now named The Land of the Tiger Lilies." Tsunade brought the briefing to a close.  
There was still that one question that hung in the air though.  
"Will Lee be well enough to partake in the mission, Lady Tsunade?" Tenten asked.  
The Hokage hesitated, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that would be-"

"Wait!" Lee barged in, hobbling on his crutch slightly. "If I may ask, please, Lady Tsunade, let me go on this mission! I've been getting better!"

_Lee..._

Her face turned harsh.

"No. You need to stay here. Do you want to be stuck with that crutch even longer?" He opened his mouth in protest, but the hard set of her jaw told me that he wouldn't be getting anywhere in this arguement, and obviously he knew it as well.  
He nodded as if it had pained him.

"Who will be going in place of Lee?" I inquire.  
"It cannot be Shino- he has already left on a mission with his father. Team Asuma has already been assigned as well... Hinata is still recovering..." Tsunade's voice drops the ending, but I flinch because I know exactly how everyone in the room is finishing that sentence.  
_'Because you nearly killed her in the Chunin Preliminaries.'_

"Sakura's training does not allow for breaks at the moment while Naruto is training under Jiraiya. And Sasuke... is still in the hospital."  
The Hokage furrowed her brows. "I suppose Kiba is the only one who isn't either in the hospital or on a mission."

She nodded with conviction.  
"Yes, Kiba I suppose."

I suppose it wouldn't be horrible.

Unbeknown to me at the time, it wasn't Kiba I should've been worried about.

...

Omniscient POV (Arashi's Thoughts)

"We should have taken off by now." Her voice holds impatience.  
Mamoru nodded his head in agreement.

At the age of nine it had been decided that Arashi could no longer be allowed out without a guard.  
Roughly seventeen, Mamaru had been around her for five years, and he was in her confidence.  
Still, her father had said to hire ninja from the Land of Fire to assist her back home.

The sky was a bright blue.

While she kept saying how much she couldn't stand it here, she didn't really mean it.

Secretly, she loved the way her hair was whipped around in the unforgiving breeze, how the cool air playfullly nipped at her skin like a dog administering a play bite.  
It made her want it all that much more, and the reminder that she could never have it... made it all the more painful.  
To add to her guilt, a picture of her father flashed across her eyes, and then her mood is again somber. Spoiled.

"If these Ninja don't get here soon-"  
Four auras come into her range, and she flinched.  
Her skin turns opaque.  
"Lady Arashi!" Mamaru says in alarm, catching Arashi as her legs buckle.  
"No. I'm fine." She rasps.

_More like suicide. This is going to be horrid._

She has to blink many times to regain her vision, and then several more to activate her peripheral vision enough to actually vertify her instincts- something that she hadn't done in a very long time.  
And although it may not seem very important of meaningful, it on the other hand was very unnerving to her Guardian.  
It meant something was wrong.

Her eyes land on a boy and that's when her skin goes white.  
"By god..." She mutters, not realizing she had spoken aloud.

It was like her own aura was being read by this boy with the lavender eyes.  
It made her feel naked and vulnerable- something, she realized long ago, that she loathed.  
They both seemed to be searching each other.

The feeling that radiated from him was a strange peace, something she could not understand.  
It was dark blue and green, showing change and acceptance.  
At the edges of his aura were slight waves of red, showing anger that had ended not long ago.

Arashi pulled her eyes away to stop the onslaught of color and emotion, turning in Mamaru's arms to bury her head in his shoulder.  
"Water." She whispers.  
There's a fumbling sound before he lightly taps her shoulder.  
The girl pulls away to take a long draft, beginning to cough and sputter as the burning liquid trickles down her throat.  
Definitely not water.

He winces. "I apologize, my lady."  
Mamaru chuckles, but his eyes still hold concern. "That wasn't meant to be for you."  
She waves him off. "It doesn't matter. I needed something to calm my nerves."

There is no question as to why.  
It is not his place to ask.  
But he takes the drink away a moment later, ignoring her glare.  
"Your father would not approve."

"I am Hyuga Neji." Arashi startles at the voice of the Lavender-eyed boy, turning to face the four in front of her.  
"This is Tenten, Rock Lee, Inuzuka Kiba and his partner, Akamaru."

Arashi's POV

All of the conflicting feelings and emotions beat against my head, making me feel as if I was going to pass out.  
I was positive that my skin was a sick, ashen grey.  
Furious, I meet his eyes, smiling.

"Of the Hyuga Clan Branch Family..." I murmur.  
"Oh, yes! You were bested by Uzumaki Naruto in the Chunin Exams, was it? Maybe it is also in your bloodline to not only lose but be late as well?"  
My altiloquent language holds a stinging bite to it, my laugh has no humour.

The once polite and serene eyes hardened.  
No matter what had come out of my mouth, I knew he would've analyzed every fiber of the sentence.  
So I decided that it should have been something that I would enjoy.

Strangely, his aura doesn't muddle, merely darkens slightly. "I see."  
I turn to the other three, unnerved by his reaction.  
His teammate- Tenten, was it?- seemed angered, and I immediately figure out that it is from the previous insult to the Hyuga.  
The girl had a deep, pronounced respect for him.

I flicker my eyes slightly to the right.  
Kiba looked back at me with a smirk.  
He was submerged in a rich mahogany-amber.

_That boy's got spirit, I'll give him that._

Finally, my eyes come to rest on the boy with a bowl cut and a hideous bright-green spandex outfit.

_It looks comfy..._

I slap away the unneeded side comment.  
Overpowering happiness and determination swamps me.  
Electric-yellow bathes my body, and I have to stifle the urge to smile.  
But then my vision goes completely black.

_He's upset about something._

And when I catches sight of his casts, I know why- it's because he can't come.

"My name is Yuri Arashi. I suppose you three are to be my escorts?"


	3. Avoiding

**Chapter 2: Tea & Tears**

Omniscient POV (Neji's Thoughts)

They'd only been on the road for a week; in all honesty, he wanted to murder her.  
Or himself, at least.

The comments she made towards him became increasingly more venomous, yet he couldn't do anything.  
Unlike Naruto, he couldn't just put people in their place no matter what- she was royalty and thus it had been ground into him not to take action.  
Yet... he had begun to make it clear to her that he wasn't a dog she could torture.

Accidentally forgetting to add her last name with an honorific, hissing a carefully veiled insult to her after she would sneer at him.  
Ignoring a command and saying later that he hadn't heard her, giving her a sharp glare whenever she tried to prod him into a fight.

Arashi mostly just talked to Kiba- well, he talked, she listened.  
They got along, and so it was good for his nerves to have a break from her.  
It was as if she were a childish brat.

And his cool facade was beginning to crack under the pressure.

Kiba's POV

They hate each other.  
I can sense it.  
Against my better nature, I'd started to talk to her more often to relieve him from having to come in contact with her- if only for a few extra minutes.  
If they were of the same rank, I knew he'd give her a piece of his mind; Neji was like that with most people anyway.  
But that wasn't the case.

I saw the ways they attacked each other though, through mock words and fake sincerity.  
Sometimes, I'd see a look remorse cross her face- when he wasn't facing her, and she thought no one was looking.  
Like she was sorry about the way she was treating him.

It didn't make sense; it was as if she was bipolar.  
Or at least at war with herself.

"Inuzuka-kun?" I broke away from my thoughts to see her staring at me.  
"Huh?" Arashi looked away.  
"It's nothing. You just stopped talking all of a sudden."  
Her voice is quiet and I realize- with a shock- that she sounds... wistful.

"You sound down, what's bothering you?" Instantly, the look of vulnerability is gone, and she glared up at me.  
"Nothing is the matter. Everything is fine."  
Her eyes practically dared me to question her.

Yeah, definitely bipolar.

Omniscient POV (Arashi's Thoughts)

Arashi took another sip of tea.  
"So you enrolled in the Kohona Academy for several years before becoming a Genin?" Kiba grinned, nodding.  
"That sounds... nice."

To anyone it would have sounded merely polite while everyone knew that the idea repulsed her- but she honestly meant her statement.  
Not that anyone would know.  
"Sarutobi-san, how long have you had weapons training?"

Tenten looked up in surprise.  
Arashi didn't really blame her- they avoided each other mostly, knowing that they did not particularly get along with each other.  
Especially from the different views they shared on the Hyuga boy.

"As long as I can remember. It's my specialty."  
The heiress had the pleasure of watching the girl's aura explode with happiness.  
Maybe they could get along, at least as relatively informal acquaintances.

"So what about you? Why does your father need you there before deciding about his disciples?"  
Stalling, she sipped at her tea, wondering how exactly to word her statement.  
Mamoru tensed, staring at the girl with dual buns in her hair.

"He... does not trust his advisors at the moment. Father is worried that if he allows me to vacation it will leave him open to his counsel using me as a bargaining chip should I be captured."  
Her Guard relaxed, while Tenten nodded, satisfied with the information, at least to some extent.

"So that is all you know on the matter?"  
A deep breath in to calm her tingling nerves.  
Even though it was a question, it had come out more as a taunt, like he already knew the answer and was simply toying with her.  
"Yes, Hyuga-kun. I am afraid that is all I know currently about the matter."

Lies.  
He knew it too.  
Of her deceptiveness.

It was in the way he looked at her- with a gaze that screamed, 'I know all of your secrets.'

_Well, Neji Hyuga, I know many of yours. And even more as the days go on._

"So there have not been any attacks previously-"  
"I am going to bed." Arashi stood up suddenly from the dead log.  
The cup clattered to the ground.

There was a faint whisper of, "Goodnight, Mamaru. Goodnight Inuzuka-kun." and then silence.  
She had left, not even bothering to pick it up.

Objective POV

"Is she all right?" Tenten asked, worry creasing her forehead.  
"Yuri-sama seemed sort of... uncomfortable. Is it because they keep on fighting?" She tilted her head in Neji's direction.  
"What?" He asked indignantly.

"I only asked her a few questions. And from what I perceived, she wasn't exactly disclosing to us everything on this mission. Not only that, but she is the one constantly berating me, so being the reason for her absence would be quite illogical."  
Mamaru sighed. "Lady Yuri will be alright in a while. She just doesn't like to talk of the past. She prefers to talk about the future- and what she can do to help it."

Omniscient POV (Arashi's POV)

_"Don't worry. We'll see each other again. Soon."_  
_"No! Please! Don't leave me!"_

She gasped and sat up.

No no no NO!  
It had been so long.  
Arashi thought that that dreams had finally gone away.

Her throat constricted, and she felt the urge to sob.  
With no hesitation, she beat the feeling down, heading outside of her tent to cool the stinging pain of loss.  
The moon was only a sliver in the darkness, and the trees shook ominously.

_Kiba should be on his shift at the moment._

Numbly, she sat down on the log with her hands clenched together in her lap. Before her mind forced her to replay the images in her dream, she felt something wet on her face.

_Goddammit, no!_

Arashi looked down with dread and sure enough, the tops of her hands were littered with fallen tears.  
She wiped furiously at her eyes.  
If Kiba saw her crying...

The thought sent her into a panic, and she blindly began to fumble for the tissue she always kept in her back pocket-  
Something was set into her hands, and she stared at it blankly, tears effectively obscuring her vision.  
Arashi took it, furious and cursing under to breath at herself for allowing him to find her, all while dabbing at her face.

Ignoring the massive blow that had been taken to her pride, Arashi looked up.  
"Thank-" Her eyes went wide, and her blood ran cold.  
Dammit.

Definitely not Kiba.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **I must say, I REALLY loved writing that last line XD  
Wbu? Did you enjoy reading it?_


	4. Author Note

_**Author's Note:**_

_**There are two things I would like to make clear.**_

_I am officially on a break for all of my stories. I want to rewrite the chapters so they are more detailed and will start reposting in about a month or so: __**I will repost a story earlier if it is one of my more popular stories and visa versa if it is less popular**__. After I repost, this note will be gone and the chapters will be placed differently so you don't have to worry about me screwing up the chapter placing._

_The other different thing will be the writing. I'm sure you've all noticed by now that my writing- in every story except Intoxicating Sunlight__- isn't really in paragraphs but more in these odd stanzas._

_Whether you want me to keep writing in stanzas or paragraphs is up to you. __I will allow putting your answer in either a:_

_1) review for my story_

_2) a PM to me_

_or_

_3) a poll that will be up on my profile until I repost_

_**If I do not get any answers then I will chose my own idea according to my own preferences so speak up for what you want it to look like. Please!**_

_That is all, sorry if you got your hopes up for another chapter!_

- MourningMemories7


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